Rotary land tilling apparatus



March 21, 1950 H. G. TRA'VER ROTARY LAND TILLING APPARATUS 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed March 51, 1944 INVENTOR. H. 6''- Tram %a/%March 19 50 H. G. TRAVER 2,501,364

ROTARY LAND TILLING APPARATUS Original FileckMa bh 31, 1944 I 2Sheets-Sheet; 2

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f]. 6'- Trmrer Patented Mar. 21, 1950 ,UFNEEIIJED 'KOTARYIJAND TILLINGAPPARATUS .kflarryaGJ-Traver, Onanfmid, N. :'.I. ()tiginal'Iapplicationi. March 131,119.44, "Serial iiNo .ZZIGlaims. .21

'ZTIhisinventiorrrelates toiagricuitural apparatus :for breaking,:workingeandttillingrthe land -.;or zgroundeand preparing the:samez-forseedingrand uraisingyof crops; wherein 'thezlan'd workingzmeans30011315135 :of :circumferentially :spaced fzsets of vradiallyiextending ,land":digger blades supporteii innaxialispaced relation L110rotate about 'aalrhori" :xzontal axis in ..circular :rpaths sand the:blades rzcurvedsinra directionitowards the v:tips, and-' said esets :ofblades :rotated in the ndirection ":of the iiicurvaturetthereofgandsgcause the blades to :pene- Ltrate the? ground, .thenwxnoveffiortaportionrof the rrotation of the blades into :the groun'd, iari'df'then.L move through and :out :"of the gronnd breaking up and loosening theland, lthe 1 present aapplicationcbein'ga: divisioniofrmyeoepending:application ;.Serial 1N0. 15283-937, :filed :March .331, .1944, 'nowzPatent, No. 455,147, :dated November.:30,;-:1a948.

iltwisan obje'etcof the inventionzto .providewan aimprovedconstructionrarid arangementcofzland .zworking means of tthiszicharacter, -:Tco1nprising :-;a :;series of BS6138 of digger blades:rmounted T011 fia .rrotatable ashaftxto.'haveLiridependenvrotativevadgijustment whereby "the "sets .:of bladesinlay :be

rotatably adjusted con -.thershalft:rrone "relative Ito i the .other andpositionztonezsetof :1 blades'zimstag- :igered relation toiadjacentiisets of blades, :and arranged a with means ito oneratiuelyconnect: and "rotate the blades with the-shaft.

It1 is another: obj ect :of" the inventionuto iprouide :rcutters, onefixed to :and rotatablexwith each'eset of :blades "and of less.;diameter ::than the rzcircle *circumscribed .by the rrevolving bladesadapted videin landiworking iandtilling; apparatusbf this character :a=3supporting structure 5 for tthe shaft itcarnyingathe digger.bladesand;.powerrmeansscarzried byrthet supporting:structureoperativeiyecon- .cnectedttoeandrrotatingcthesshattwithtthe:jdigger iOthertobjectsxandiadvantages =if317hB?inV(-!nti0n';-Wi1l hereinafteriappear.

Jni the drawings accompanying and .iforming ea Tpartcof sthisiappilicationithere :rshown ".the em- ::;bodiment-.' of wine invention,wherein- '30 in iandaworking: apparatus *roftthisicharacter 'diskashaft.

Figure *3 :is :a view blocking s-at 'cthe right :of -Figure'2.

Figure i iiissanaelevational view 'of" ahubmem- ;;ber on which thedigger-blades 'arefixedwaidapted to be independently-mounted :onttheoperating shaft therefor and arranged. to operative'ly couple ctogetherjuxtaposed 'bladercarrying hubs.

Figure 5. is a front elevational' viewof a :portion of :the digger.rblades for breaking and loosening the land mounted 0n supporting androtating .ishafts therefor and showing scrapers" for scrap- :ingssoiland .otherlforeign substances from the blades and cutters "associatedtherewith.

Figure 6 is! a view. looking at? the right of Figure 1.5- and alsoshowing in connection'therewithmeans to clear:fforeign'substances from'the land I breakin'gs and loosening blades.

If Figure '7 is a cross sectional viewrof' one ofthe iand breaking andloosening blades, the section being taken on the line 1- *of Figure 5.

Figure"8 is alongitudinal sectional view to Show ithe "rotatablemounting of holiow shafts 'upon "which the hubs carrying the landbreaking and -loosening"blades and cutter disks are mounted to rotatetherewith.

The embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings 'foncarryingout the inventioneom- "'prises a frame consisting of 'parallellysuperposed side members 22,. 23 secured in superposed *reia- 4 ition byiupright members 24. The'framesupports "power meansmot' shown, andsaidpower means is operativelyconnected toa drive shaft 2'! throughwaclutchzand change speed mechanismpshown in *a 'conventional'manner at28 and 29,1'espectively. The-clutch is provided with the usualmeans forengaging and disengagingthe clutch, :andr'the 'Changespeedmechanism isenclosed in -a housing wand provided withthe usual actuatingmeans for'operativelvconnecting different elements" thereof itorrotatetheoutputxshaft atdifferenttspeeds.

Mean to: break ariddoosentthefland or ground. r'shown in 'dot anddashLlines at L, arerotatably carried rbelowxthe' frame and TShOWIIEEISYCOIllPliS- v; iI Ig'ZSGtSOf radial. niggerxbladestii QPspacedcircumferentially about "and longitudinally :of :a asha'ft extendingradially inwardly from the periphery toward a pair of tubular portions44 extending axially from the opposite sides of the disk portion, asshown in Figures 2, 4, and 8, and the blades secured therein by bolts45. The portion of the digger blades 39 outwardly from the portion atwhich they are secured to the disk hubs extend radially outward and arecurved in a direction of rotation of said blades, as shown in Figures 1,3 and 6, whereby as the blades are revolved with the rotation of theblade carrying hubs they penetrate into the land or ground forsubstantially one-third of their length, pass through the land for aportion of the revolving movement of the blades and then out of the landthereby lifting the land and effecting a breaking up and loosening ofthe land. The end portion of the blades at which they are secured to thehub disks are substantially fiat and the portion outwardly therefrom isof T-shape in cross section, as shown in Figure '1, and areprogressively reduced in cross section or taper to a point within thetips and the tip flattened and arranged of barbed form, as shown at 46The shaft 40 extends through and is supported in a hollow shaft whichmay be a single shaft, but preferably consists of a pair of sections 41,48, as shown in Figure 8, with a pair of abutments 49 interposed betweenthe inner ends of said hollow shafts and retained on the shaft 411 bycollars pinned on said latter shaft at the outer ends of the hollowshafts, as shown at 50, the hollow shafts being journalled in bearings5| mounted on the sub-frame 4!. The digger blade carrying hubs 42 areloosely mounted on the hollow shafts to have rotative adjustment onerelative to the other and to be connected to rotate one from the otherand in unison with the hollow shafts. For this purpose the ends of thetubular or sleeve portions 44 of the hubs are arranged as a jaw clutchmember and the jaw clutch member of adjacent hubs are adapted to beengaged to couple the hubs together, as shown at 52 in Figures 2, 4, 5and 8. The tubular or sleeve por-,

tion 44 at the inner end of the inner hubs are removed, as shown at 53in Figure 8, and said ends of the hubs abutting the ends of alongitudinally split grease retaining and dust excluding member 54engaged over the abutments 49 and the inner ends of the tubular shafts.The digger blade carrying hubs are retained in assembled relation andcoupled together by the jaw clutch members 52 of adjacent hubs by asleeve 55 keyed to the hollow shafts at the outer end of they shafts 41,48 are rotated from the drive shaft 21 by sprocket chains 56 passingaround sprocket wheels 51 fixed on or keyed to the end portions of thedrive shaft 21 and sprocket wheels 58 keyed to the ends of the hollowshafts 41, 48 extending outwardly from the bearings 5 I, as shown inFigures 1 and 8.

To facilitate breaking and loosening of the land by the digger blades,means are provided to cut or slice the land in the direction of therevolving movement and travel of the digger blades and also cutvegetation, such as a cover crop,

stalks and trash. As shown, said means consists of disk cutters 59engaged upon a tubular portion 44 of the digger blade carrying hubs 42extending from the side of the hub disks and in recesses in the hubdisks and side of the digger blades, as

shown in Figure 2. The disk cutters are secured to the disk portion ofthe hubs by the bolts 45 securing the digger blades to the hub disks,the heads of the bolts being recessed into the disk cutters and the nutson the bolts recesed into the hub disks. The cutter disks are of lessdiameter than the circle circumscribed by the digger blades. During thedigging operation of the digger blades 39 and disk cutters 59, soil andother material will adhere to and accumulate on the diggerblades anddisk cutters, particularly so if the ground is moist, which mayinterfere with the eiiicient operation of the land breaking andloosening means. Means are, therefore, provided to remove from the diskportion of the hub members, the cutter disks and digger blades any suchmaterial adhering thereto. As shown, said means comprises scrapers 59',60' of curved form in longitudinal section suspended from bolts 6|between split clamping collars 62 mounted on a bar 63 fixed to the sideframe members 23 and extending transversely of the frame or supportingstructure, the bolts 6| also serving to clamp the scraper carryingcollars 62 to said bar 63. The scrapers extend downwardly to one side ofthe tubular portions 44 of the digger blade carrying hubs, the scrapers59' being disposed relative to the cutter disks 59 and having a straightedge 64 opposed to said cutter disks and a side of the digger blades.The other scrapers 60' are disposed at the side of the hub disks 42opposite the disk scrapers 59' and having offset straight edge portions85, one of which edge portions is opposed to the hub disks and the otherportion opposed to the opposite side of the digger blades, as shown inFigures 5 and 6. The scraper carrying collars B2 are of a length toprovide spaces between adjacent collars to permit of adjustment of thecollars longitudinally of the bar 63, and the scrapers toward and awayfrom the disk cutters 59, the disk portion of the hubs and the diggerblades.

Material, particularly vegetation, may accumulate on the outer endportions of the digger blades, and means are provided to remove the samefrom the digger blades. As shown, said means comprises beater blades 66circumferentially spaced about and extending radially from hubs 61 fixedon and spaced longitudinally of a shaft 68, Figures 1, 3 and 6,extending transversely of the frame and journalled in bearing members 69fixed to the side members 23 of the frame. The beater blade carryingshaft is rotated from the digger blade carrying shafts 41, 48 bysprocket chainslll passing around sprocket wheels 1| fixed on the shafts41, 48 and sprocket wheels 12 fixed on the beater blade carrying shaft68, as shown in Figures 2 and 3. The beater blades 66 are spaced alongthe' shaft 68 to revolve in paths intermediate the paths of movement ofthe digger blades 39, as shown in Figure 2, and the beater blades arecurved in a direction reverse to the curvature of the digger blades, asshown in Figures 3 and 6.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In apparatus for breaking and working land, a frame, a shaftextending transversely of and rotatably mounted on the frame, hubscarrying circumferentially spaced digger blades and loosely mounted injuxtaposed relation on said shaft to have independent r-otativeadjustment to position the blades of adjacent hubs in staggeredrelation, said hubs arranged to couple the hubs together and rotate thehubs and blades in unison, means to connect and rotate the bladecarrying hubs with the shaft, disk cutters of less diameter than thecircle circumscribed by the rotation of the digger blades juxtaposed toa side of the blade carrying hubs and digger blades operative to cutvegetation and the land into strips, a bar mounted in the frame toextend parallel to and above the shaft, and pairs of scrapers adjustablymounted on the bar to have adjustment longitudinally of said bar andsuspended from the bar to extend relative to the hubs, digger blades anddisk cutters, one of said pairs of scrapers having a straight edgeopposed to the disk cutters and a side of the digger blades and theother scraper of said pairs of scrapers having offset straight edgeportions opposed to the opposite side of the hubs and digger blades toscrape from the disk cutters, the hubs and digger blades soil and othermaterial adhering thereto.

2. In apparatus for breaking and Working land, a frame, a shaftextending transversely of and rotatably mounted on the frame, hubmembers mounted in juxtaposed relation on the shaft and comprising adisk portion arranged with equidistantly spaced and radially extendingrecesses in one face thereof and tubular portions extending from theopposite sides of the disk portion and loosely mounted on the shaft, theends of the tubular portions being arranged as jaw clutch members toengage the jaw clutch members of adjacent hub members and couple the hubmembers together, jaw clutch members slidable on and rotatable with theshaft adapted to engage the jaw members of the outer tubular portion ofthe outermost hub members and couple the hub members to the shaft,digger blades having a straight end portion arranged with a recess inone side and mounted in the radially extending recesses with therecessed side exposed and the remaining portion of the blades extendingin an arcuate direction from the disk portions of the hub members, meansto secure the digger blades in the radially extending recesses, and diskcutters engaged in the recesses in the side of the digger blades andsecured in juxtaposed relation to the digger blades and the diskportions of the hub members by the means securingthe digger blades inthe radially extending recesses.

HARRY G. TRAVER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 169,134 Bean Oct. 26, 1875555,623 Sha iler Mar. 3, 1896 787,840 Friberg Apr. 18, 1905 930,250Waterman Aug. 3, 1909 935,680 Niesz Oct. 5, 1909 989,748 Adams Apr. 18,1911 1,085,231 Wolf Jan. 27, 1914 1,165,477 White Dec. 28, 19151,669,947 Peterson May 15, 1928 2,140,871 Hart Dec. 20, 1938 FOREIGNPATENTS Number Country Date 252,006 Italy Feb. 16, 1927 500,908 FranceJan. 10, 1920

